Conventional stingball grenades use a design derived from fragmentation grenades. However, instead of using a metal casing to produce potentially lethal shrapnel, they are made from two spheres of hard rubber. The smaller, inner sphere houses the explosive charge, primer, and detonator, and the outer sphere is the grenade casing. Upon detonation, the rubber balls explode outward in all directions, each one capable of inflicting a non-lethal but painful, stinging impact. Some types have an additional payload of chemical agents. The space between the two spheres can be filled with CS, CN, or OC powder or liquid, all of which are lachrymatory agents (tear gas).
A significant disadvantage of conventional stingball grenade designs is that they produce highly variable quantities and sizes of shrapnel. The pellets are sufficiently small that they can cause considerable damage to eyes and other soft tissue. The rubber spheres can also produce significant quantities of small shrapnel. To limit the potential for injuries, some law enforcement agencies limit shrapnel size to no smaller than 16 mm×16 mm.
Therefore, a need exists for a new and improved grenade that fragments into consistent quantities and sizes of shrapnel. In this regard, the various embodiments of the present invention substantially fulfill at least some of these needs. In this respect, the rubber fragmentation grenade according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of providing a grenade that fragments into consistent quantities and sizes of shrapnel.